Megawati will express empathy with Acehnese

JAKARTA (JP): Minister of Defense Matori Abdul Djalil acknowledged that President Megawati Soekarnoputri would bring nothing concrete to resolve the Aceh problems in her planned visit to Aceh, but she would just express her empathy to the Acehnese, who have suffered due to prolonged conflicts.

"An expression of empathy and tender concern is expected to constitute a more positive impact than empty promises," he said in a meeting with reporters at his residence here on Saturday.

Matori denied that the postponement of the President's visit from the previous schedule on Sunday was caused by government's unclear political agenda on the visit.

He said the delay was due to technical reasons and confirmed that the visit would take place by the end of next week.

"The point is not the technical matters but that the President will go ahead with her plan to visit the Aceh province early September," he said, adding that he would be part of the President's entourage.

Asked about a possible review of Presidential Instruction No. 4/2001, Matori asserted that the government had no intention of reviewing the instruction.

"But evaluation of its implementation in the field is necessary because the instruction has a comprehensive approach the government would do its best to resolve the conflict."

"The instruction stipulates political dialogs, economic and infrastructure development, law enforcement and a limited military operation to calm mounting tension in the troubled province," he said, adding that the government would implement all things required by the instruction simultaneously.

Denying speculations, he said that both the police and the military would not launch fresh operations to quell the Free Aceh Movement (GAM).

"The rebels are part of Acehnese people, our brothers. They are not our enemies. The government will treat them as citizens who have taken up arms because of their dissatisfaction with improper policies toward the province in the past," he said.

He acknowledged, however, that limited military operations had been launched to crush GAM actions in order to improve security in the province, a basic precondition for dialogs, economic development and the implementation of the special autonomy.

"It is impossible for the government and the Acehnese people to hold dialogs and accelerate economic development in Aceh unless conditions are normal," he said.

He said security authorities had taken tough measures against rebels who threatened security. "Things have run according to standard procedure," he stressed, rejecting allegations that Indonesian Police and military had been too arrogant in their actions against the separatists.

Separately, Air Force chief Air Marshall Hanafie Asnan told reporters on Sunday that the Air Force has yet to prepare fresh combat troops to support a prospective military operation in the troubled Aceh province.

"Of course as part of the Indonesian Military (TNI), we have to deploy new combat troops should we are required by the TNI chief to strengthen the security operation in Aceh," Hanafie told reporters after chairing a closing ceremony of the Jakarta Air Show (JAS) at Halim Perdanakusumah air base in East Jakarta.

"I haven't received any information about the military operation. I've prepared my troops to support such troops deployment or help evacuation there," Hanafie said.

The TNI is scheduled to hold an exchange of the operation's troops early this month in order to refresh the existing troops stationed in Aceh since May.

According to Hanafie, the Air Force has deployed three companies of its combat troops from the Air Force's special force Paskhas to join the existing Aceh Military Operation (Kolakops), which also consist of other special troops from the Navy and the Army.

"Joining the three companies of the Air Force's Paskhas is the Air Force's intelligence detachment called Bravo," Hanafie said.

The Army's Special Force (Kopassus) Education Unit at Batujajar, Bandung, West Java, has reportedly prepared its troops for the deployment as well.

Meanwhile in Bandung, West Java, the Army Chief of Staffs, Gen. Endriartono Sutarto, asserted that the Army would not tolerate any separatist demand from the Unitary State of the Republic of Indonesia voiced by armed civilian groups in Aceh.

"Separatist movement is violating the law, as they are conducting a rebellion. Should they (the armed civilians) continue this rebellion, there will be no choice for us than to combat them," Endriartono said as quoted by Antara. (rms/tso)